Red Dragon

Review by Clint Morris

In 1986, director Michael Mann adapted for film Thomas Harris' book of "Red Dragon".

Manhunter - which he titled it - told the story of a crotchety FBI Special Agent who seeks the assistance of incarcerated maniac Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector, to capture a puzzling slaughterer known as The Tooth Fairy.

The only people that seemed to have seen the film though, are those that spotted it on the bottom video shelf almost immediately after it's brief theatrical run. So when Silence of the Lambs came along in 1991, an uninitiated audience presumed this was film's introduction to the intimidating Hannibal Lector.

But Producer Dino DeLaurentis knew better, and after the success of Lambs, as well as it's recent sequel Hannibal, decided it was time to breath new life into the prequel stories of Hannibal and company - especially considering no one saw his original bout.

Dino ultimately dumped the original cast (it was a mostly B cast anyway), hired a hot shot feature director (Rush Hour's Brett Ratner), re-created many of the sets from Lambs and importantly, and most dominantly, bought Anthony Hopkins back to reprise his role, for the third time, as Lector.

This would be the fitting addition to the "Hannibal" series, Manhunter wasn't.

As good as Brian Cox was in the latter, Hopkins 'is' Hannibal Lector. He has the Oscar and a tag as 'film's scariest villains' to prove it.

The Hannibal of Red Dragon is probably a lot less fester and radically less sassy, but Hopkins still gives an incredible turn, as what could be the best character of his career. It's almost like watching Hopkins give life to the remains of a man about to transform into the monster.

And although William Peterson made a marvellous Will Graham in the original, Edward Norton is nothing but credible and absorbing in the role too.

He has a much younger face than Peterson, and a different acting style and approach to the character than his predecessor does - but not for a moment do we see anything but a slapped-around fed, determined to put the final nail in the villain's coffin.

Thirdly, but certainly not least, thespian Ralph Fiennes is a marvel as the ostensible villain, a harried Francis Dolarhyde by day, a menacing butcher by sunset. I'm sure there will be plenty who are a bit dubious about having Fiennes in the villain role - but I tell you what, he pulls it off, and then some.

While the casting is terrific, I have just one beef. Why get Harvey Keitel to play Jack Crawford?

Surely, it would have made more sense to have Scott Glenn reprise the role he had played in Lambs. The film seems so content on being 'Silence of the Lambs 1:1' with it's numerous references to the sequel and set replica, yet it couldn't bring the one man back from the sequel, which might have given audiences that little bit more of a connection to it's famous predecessor. Still, Glenn or no Glenn, they've slotted the right folk in the right bodies here.

Red Dragon, for the most part, is essentially the same film as "Manhunter" (those who've seen "Manhunter" will probably see all the twists and turns coming, having experienced the account before), with perhaps a much larger budget, a more imposing cast and a change in pace.

But because Hannibal didn't feature so prominently in the original movie and story, they've written several new scenes for him, including a knockout opening.

I was madly disappointed with Hannibal, so imagine my merriment when discovering Dragon was a return to Lambs territory.

This is the follow-up that should have been done all along - not that silly spoof-like 'further adventures of a man eater' that was churned out a year or so back. They say this is the entrée, but Silence of the Lambs or not, I'm happy calling this a main meal.

4 out of 5

Red Dragon
Australian release: Thursday October 24
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anthony Heald.
Director: Brett Ratner.
Website: Click here

Brought to you by MovieHole